hypotheticalhurricanesfandomcom-20200216-history
1999 Hypothetical Atlantic hurricane season
The 1999 Atlantic hurricane season was an active season. It marked the first time that the first storm of the season and in the season before it formed before the official start of the hurricane season. Systems Tropical Storm Arlene In late May, a trough of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened into Tropical Storm Arlene while about 200 miles south of the Mississippi Delta. Arlene slowly moved northeast towards Alabama. Arlene came ashore on May 27th, 2 days after it formed. As it drifted over southern Alabama and into Georgia, Arlene began to rapidly weaken and was declared a remnant low on May 28th, where it emerged into the Atlantic Ocean and dissipated a few miles off the Florida coast. Damage from Arlene was relatively minimal, at $3 million USD and no recorded fatalities. Tropical Storm Bret A tropical wave exited the coast of Africa on June 11th. Under favorable conditions, a tropical depression formed and strengthened into Tropical Storm Bret on August 13th while about 300 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Bret slowly moved west towards Trinidad and Tobago, temporarily bringing near-tropical storm force winds. Bret passed over Grenada on June 16th, dealing $300,000 USD in damages. A man drowned after slipping off his boat in high seas. Bret slowly weakened as it moved through the Caribbean, opening up into a tropical wave on June 18th. Hurricane Cindy A tropical wave located 80 miles north of the Virgin Islands began to strengthen, becoming a tropical depression on July 8th. A period of intensification followed, and it was upgraded to a tropical storm, Cindy, about 6 hours later. Moving northwest towards Florida, Cindy began strengthening, becoming a hurricane while 200 miles north-northwest of Hispaniola. Turning north while 120 miles off the coast of Florida, Cindy began to pick up speed as it moved up the Eastern shoreboard. On July 12th, Cindy reached peak intensity as a category 2 hurricane while 400 miles off the coast of Virginia. Rip currents along the east coast of the United States drowned three people, 2 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the other in Rehoboth, Delaware. Cindy began to weaken as it entered the cooler waters of New England, weakening to a category 1 hurricane on July 15th, becoming extratropical on July 16th while 100 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. Tropical Storm Don Tropical Storm Don formed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on July 27th. Traveling nearly due west, it maintained winds of 45 miles per hour, yet never intensified further. Don remained a weak tropical storm until its landfall in Galveston, TX on July 29th. Heavy rain and high waves led to minor coastal flooding, although damage was minimal and no fatalities occurred. Don continued to rapidly weaken as it moved inland and turned northeast. The storm weakened to a tropical depression and then a remnant low on July 30th, dissipating over the arid regions of northern Texas. Hurricane Emily On August 9th, a trough of low pressure formed a tropical depression in the central Gulf of Mexico, and Tropical Storm Emily formed from the depression 7 hours after its initial designation. Emily slowly moved west towards Texas, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the Rockport area. Under warm waters, Emily strengthened into a hurricane on August 12th, reaching peak intensity with winds of 80 miles per hour. The tropical storm watch was upgraded to a hurricane warning as residents prepared for Emily's arrival. On August 13th, Hurricane Emily made landfall in Rockport, TX with winds of 75 miles per hour. Torrential rain combined with high tide storm surge brought flooding which caused $500 million USD in damages. 3 people drowned in the floodwaters as Emily slowed to a nearly stationary position. Turning southeast towards Mexico, Emily weakened to a tropical storm on August 14th. It continued weakening until it had degenerated to a remnant low, dissipating on August 15th near the Mexico-United States border. Tropical Depression Six A trough of low pressure and a cold front coalesced and created an elongated area of disturbed weather. On August 14th it had sufficient convection to be classified as a tropical depression. However, it stayed unorganized as it meandered up the Florida coast. Some light rainfall occurred in northern Florida and Georgia, but no damage was caused and the storm dissipated on August 16th. Tropical Storm Franklin A tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea developed a tropical depression on August 20th. The depression gradually strengthened into Tropical Storm Franklin while about 100 miles south of the Virgin Islands. Moving northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico, Franklin continued to strengthen near to hurricane strength, but upper-level winds prevented it from further intensification. However, Franklin remained a powerful tropical storm as it turned southwest towards Central America, and on August 23rd, a tropical storm watch was issued for Nicaragua and Panama. Late on August 24th, Franklin made landfall in Nicaragua as a strong tropical storm. Winds reached 70 miles per hour as torrential rainfall caused mudslides that buried the villages in the hills of Nicaragua. 4 people died from mudslides burying them under nearly 4 feet of debris. Franklin weakened a little as it moved over Central America, but it emerged into the Pacific basin on August 25th still a tropical storm. It was appropriately renamed Irwin, which would later intensify into a Pacific hurricane. Franklin left more than 2,000 people displaced and caused around $175 million USD in damages. As Irwin, it turned northeast and hit Mexico as a category 3 hurricane and flooded coastal cities. Hurricane Gert A strong extratropical cyclone interacted with a subtropical system off the coast of New Jersey to create a subtropical storm on August 29th. The subtropical cyclone was initially slow to strengthen, but it began to gain some tropical characteristics as it was fed by moist air from the Gulf Stream. The subtropical storm became Hurricane Gert on August 31st while around 300 miles south of Nova Scotia. Gert drifted northeast with little change in strength until September 2nd, when cooler water temperatures caused Gert to weaken and become extratropical 260 miles south of Greenland. Because it stayed out in the open Atlantic, Gert caused no damage or other effects to land besides light rainfall. Hurricane Harvey A tropical wave slightly north of the Leeward Islands strengthened into a tropical depression on September 6th. It wasn't long until the slow-moving depression became a tropical storm, Harvey, on September 7th. Strengthening over the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic, Harvey meandered northwest, brushing the Caribbean islands with its large tropical storm-force wind diameter. On September 9th, while about 80 miles north of Hispaniola, Harvey became the fourth hurricane of the season, and a hurricane warning was issued for the Bahama islands. Slowly cruising through the Bahamas on September 10th, Harvey continued to strengthen and reached peak intensity with winds of 90 miles per hour. A hurricane warning was put in effect for Florida from Port St. Lucie to Miami as Harvey neared the state of Florida. Harvey made landfall on September 11th near Fort Lauderdale as a strong category 1 hurricane. Torrential rainfall caused major coastal flooding, and 2 tornadoes, both of F1 intensity were reported in Fort Lauderdale and the other in a rural area. Weakening to a tropical storm as it moved over Florida, Harvey continued to produce heavy rainfall in its path, temporarily restrengthening into a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, but then weakening again before its second landfall near Panama City. From there, Harvey began to rapidly weaken over the Gulf Coast States, and by September 13th had become extratropical over northern Alabama. Harvey caused $1.2 billion USD in damages and killed 9 people, 7 of which were direct. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton flew out to Florida to help the victims of the weak, but damaging hurricane. They provided $200 million to those affected by the storm, and cleanup efforts took less time than what was estimated. Tropical Storm Irene On September 12th, a tropical wave off the coast of west Africa began to strengthen, and a tropical depression was formed later the same day. Slowly strengthening over warm waters as it moved generally north, it became Tropical Storm Irene on September 14th. Fairly quick-moving, Irene gradually intensified, but as it moved into the cooler waters near Europe, it began to weaken. On September 17th, a weakened Irene became an extratropical cyclone while 200 miles southwest of Portugal. The extratropical cyclone strengthened and struck Europe as a fairly powerful European windstorm which caused thousands of power outages. Tropical Storm Jose A large, but disorganized tropical wave entered the Caribbean Sea on September 13th, and subsequently strengthened into a tropical depression on September 15th, a day after Irene became a tropical storm. Strengthening over the warm waters near South America, the depression became Tropical Storm Jose on September 16th. Slowly moving west, Jose stayed disorganized as it approached Nicaragua, coming ashore on September 18th. Because it was disorganized at landfall, Jose quickly fell apart and its remnants drifted west into the Pacific basin, contributing to the formation of a tropical depression. Tropical Depression Twelve A squall line originating from a strong thunderstorm in the southeast United States drifted towards Hispaniola and started to organize convection in an elongated area. A tropical depression formed on September 22nd and continued drifting south. The depression strengthened little over the next day, and by September 24th had become a cluster of rainstorms in Venezuela. The only effects from Tropical Depression Twelve were thunderstorms across Hispaniola and moderate rainfall in northern Venezuela. Hurricane Katrina On September 28th, a tropical depression formed from a tropical wave west of Cape Verde. Swiftly strengthening, it became Tropical Storm Katrina just 5 hours later. Katrina was monitored for possible strengthening, and on September 29th, a period of rapid intensification ensued. By the next day, Katrina had strengthened from a tropical storm on September 29th to a category 2 hurricane on September 30th. Intensification slowed, but Katrina continued to slowly strengthen further as it moved generally north and then turned south. On October 2nd, Katrina reached peak intensity and became the first major hurricane of the season. Looping back to the north and then turning east, Katrina began to weaken as it moved into cool European waters. However, due to lack of dry air and slightly warmer than normal sea temperatures, Katrina became the first landfalling European hurricane in history, with winds of 75 miles per hour. Southern Portugal was caught off-guard by the storm, and 2 people lost their lives from the powerful storm surge. Overall, Katrina's damage was minimal, but it made headlines in Europe for several days. Hurricane Lonnie Forming from a tropical depression off the coast of Florida on October 2nd, Lonnie initially encountered unfavorable conditions which hindered development. However, it was able to outlast this period and strengthened to a tropical storm on October 4th while 200 miles off the South Carolina coast. Lonnie then began to rapidly intensify and became a hurricane the next day. Dangerous rip currents swelled across the east coast of the United States. A 12-year old boy and his father drowned from a very strong rip current in Myrtle Beach, SC. Strengthening further as it moved up the east coast, Lonnie reached peak intensity with winds of 100 miles per hour while moving farther away from the coast. Lonnie began weakening over cooler fall waters on October 6th, and it became extratropical off the Jersey shore on October 8th. Tropical Storm Maria Forming from a tropical depression in the south Caribbean Sea, Maria became a tropical storm on October 19th. Slowly strengthening but not organizing any further, Maria had already begun to degenerate on October 20th. The storm maintained its intensity for only a few more hours before it weakened to a tropical depression later that day. Continuing a southwesterly track, Maria crossed over Nicaragua, causing heavy rain which overall benefited vegetation in the area. Maria fell apart on October 21st over the hills of Nicaragua and dissipated the same day. Hurricane Nate The strongest storm of the season formed out of a vigorous tropical wave on October 28th. Strengthening steadily over the tropical Atlantic, Nate became a hurricane and began to rapidly intensify. It was a category 3 hurricane by October 30th, and a hurricane warning was issued for the Leeward Islands. Nate made landfall as a strong category 3 hurricane on October 31st, typical of a Cape Verde-type hurricane. Strong winds, storm surge, and torrential rainfall caused at least $1 billion USD in damages in the Leeward Islands alone. Strengthening further, Nate underwent an eyewall replacement cycle and temporarily weakened, but on November 1st it turned northwest towards Florida and the Bahamas. It became evident that Nate was going to strike the Bahamas and east Florida, and a hurricane warning was issued on November 4th, 36 hours before landfall. Nate began to move quicker as it approached the Bahama islands, and preparations had to be rushed to completion. On November 5th, Nate cruised through the Bahamas at peak intensity. It had reached category 4 strength and was pounding the islands with storm surge and extremely strong winds. Entire houses were leveled and destroyed, while schools in the area suffered minor to moderate damage. Nate did not weaken as it passed through the Bahamas, and with winds of 140 miles per hour neared the Florida coast. Nate made its third and final landfall on November 6th as a category 4 hurricane near Miami, FL. 12 tornadoes were reported across the state, 2 of which reached F2 intensity. Heavy rain and storm surge caused very severe flooding in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale area as strong winds battered well-built structures. Moving northwest into Georgia, still a weak hurricane, more flooding and 5 more tornadoes were reported in the southwest portion of the state. By November 8th, Nate had weakened to a tropical storm and was beginning to lose tropical characteristics. Completing extratropical transition on November 9th, heavy rain and snow in the Appalachian mountains persisted before Nate dissipated on November 11th. Hurricane Olga On November 30th, a frontal low stalled over the Atlantic Ocean. It began to intensify, and a subtropical storm formed. Strengthening further, it became Hurricane Olga on December 1st. Olga moved slowly northeast over the next 2 days before it turned northwest. Cold waters were not favorable for development, and Olga became extratropical on December 4th while around 320 miles southeast of Iceland. Olga is known for being the second Atlantic tropical cyclone to exist in the month of December, the first being Hurricane Faith in 1966. No effects were felt over land from either storm, and both were relatively short-lived. Category:Cyclones Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Reimagined seasons Category:Past Hurricane Seasons Category:Past Storms